Emerald
by lizziecamcats
Summary: Just a short idea in my head, I wrote this in about an hour and a half so it's not very developed. I'll expand on it later on but yeah, for now, hope you enjoy reading my own idea of Emerald's origin and how she came into Cinder's faction. I do not own RWBY.


**I DO NOT OWN RWBY OR ANY CHARACTERS**

Merely a story I had in my mind after watching RWBY and reading up on the RWBY wiki. They'll probably expand on Emerald and Mercury and Cinder soon but I can't get this story out of my head.

 **WARNING: DARK THEMES AHEAD**

Emerald's POV

How did this happen?

I woke up in pitch black darkness. My arms were behind me, I could feel they were bound by something. My feet were tied too. I couldn't move an inch.

Did it finally happen?

Did big brother finally sell me?

" _You lazy good for nothing girl! You only brought back three loaves of bread? Why not four? I oughta sell you away! There are people who'd pay good money for a 10 year old virgin. Or maybe I'll feed you to the grimm. How'd you like that?"_

" _Please don't, big bro! I could only carry four in my arms! Besides I got away quick, the seller didn't even know I stole them!"_

" _Useless bitch with all of your excuses!"_

I felt something hit me behind my head and everything went black.

Suddenly there was light. I squint my eyes, they hurt from the suddenness. When they adjusted, I could see a man entering from what looked like a door. My feet were bound by rope and that wasn't just me, there were other children as well. They were all unconscious, bound just like me. The man kicked each of them awake. He said something in a language I didn't understand to the children. He stopped at me, noticing I was awake and spat in my face. I felt the warm disgusting liquid trickle down my face. He laughed at my expression and walked out, closing the door and leaving us in darkness again.

I don't know how long time passed. It felt like forever. A few men then came in. They pulled children who were awake up on their feet and kicked those who remained unconscious. I was pulled up and pushed out the door. I noticed that some kids remained unconscious in the room, despite the hits they were receiving.

We walked out of the place we were held in. Apparently we were on a boat. We were herded off the boat like cattle onto a port. It was nighttime wherever we were. I gulped and looked around. Most kids seemed around my age. They were dressed shabbily like me too; all I had on was a pair of old boxers from big bro and a t-shirt that fit me like a dress. None of us had shoes on either. I spotted the same men from earlier carrying the unconscious children; there were five of them. The kids were thrown off the boat into the sea. None of them made a sound, the water enveloped them down in silence. One of the men looked at me and smirked. I took my eyes away, my heart racing, was I next to be killed? Or would I be used for worse things.

We were made to enter a van. One of the child resisted, he spoke in my language, "No! Please! Let me go! Let me go!"

The men didn't listen, or at least they didn't understand. They didn't seem to be very happy with the kid. He was held back by some men and the rest of us were forced into the van. As the driver drove us off, I kept my eyes on the kid who was left with two men. He seemed to be trying to talk to them but they didn't look at him. When we were quite a distance, I noticed one guy holding a gun to the boy's head. Then I heard a gun shot.

We arrived to a large run-down building. They got us out of the van and made us walk to the building. There were men with weapons all around. None of us protested and we walked silently. The inside was not as bad as the outside. Through the doors, the place looked like a huge hall. There was a beautiful woman dressed in a red and had long black hair. She smiled when she saw us. We were made to stand in a line and she approached us one by one. She said something to each kid and they said something back. I began to sweat, what would she do to me when she finds out I can't understand her language? I was the last kid in the line. She patted my head and touched my green locks. She said something. I looked at her dumbfounded.

She repeated her words again, this time her voice sounding stern. I bit my lip. She touched her chest, "Cinder." And touched mine.

Was that what she was called? Was she asking me what I was called?

"Thief" I told her, touching my own chest.

She smiled and nodded.

Cinder's POV

"For a second, I thought you brought me back a dumb child. You know I have no use for such a child." I told Warren.

"When we visited her city, I noticed she stole some bread quite easily. She has potential. I followed her. She was apparently part of some gang."

"And?" I pressed him.

"After they had beaten her, I approached them to discuss if I could take her off their hands. They did not understand me, so I helped them understand and got the girl." He lifted his weapon up with a smirk.

"So, she probably doesn't understand a lick of English. Didn't you think how troublesome it would be to teach her?"

"I'll do that myself, Cinder. What did she say her name was?"

"Sustrai."

Emerald's POV

For five years, Warren took me under his care. He became the father I never had. He was patient to teach me his language. It wasn't long until I was fluent in it. The whole building was similar to something they called 'school'. We slept in dormitories, given breakfast, lunch and dinner. They gave us clothes to wear and we were allowed showers too. This was a far better life than the one I had before. Still although we were given freedom to roam around buildings, we were expected to follow orders. I never saw Cinder since I came here. Warren told me I'm special. If I do well in my exams, I'd get to meet Cinder.

"Sustrai, you've got great skills. You'll definitely pass. Just remember your training."

"Thank you, Warren."

His smile faltered a bit, "You could do great things, Sustrai. It's too bad that you're into this whole mess."

"Mess?"

His eyes widened a bit, "oops, uh…just pretend you never heard that and get some sleep, kay?"

I didn't question him and head to my dorm. I passed by the small library we had. I liked books, they really helped me pick up the language. Inside, I spot a silver haired boy. He was flipping through a comic book called 'Roman gods vs potato monsters!'.

"You know, there are better books in the library."

He turned around and glared at me, "Yeah, well I like pictures. And this Mercury character is so cool!"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Meh."

"Hey, you're one of the kids going for the exams tomorrow right? What's your name?" He asked before I could leave.

"Sustrai. You?"

"Black." He ran his fingers through his hair, "They call me that because they found me covered in black mud."

"Cool story bro but I gotta go." This guy was weird. "See you in the exams." I waved at him and left. Coincidently on my way back to my room, I bumped into a woman. She looked exactly the same five years ago.

"Why hello Sustrai? How have you been?" She was so beautiful.

"I'm ..I'm fine."

"You'll be taking the exams tomorrow right? Good luck, dear. Warren has told me a great deal about your abilities. I'm eager to watch them. By the way, have you seen Warren?"

"He was just around the block earlier when I met up with him."

She smiled, "Thank you. By the way, I love your hair."

I blushed, "thank you."

"They remind me of emeralds. These." She held up a green stone. It glittered as the light shone on it. She took my hand and placed it in my palm. "Take it, it's my gift to you."

"T-thank you so much!"

She patted my head and walked away, presumably to find Warren. Cinder was such an amazing person. She gave me a new life, a new start, and now she said I remind her of something so beautiful.

"Emerald…" I stare at the beautifully carved stone in my hand.

The night passed quickly and all final students prepared for our exams. The panel of judges were Cinder, two other teachers and Warren….except Warren wasn't there. We assembled in the hall and Cinder stood up first to speak from the stage.

"My dear fellow friends, you've been working hard on your skills. Now it is the time to put them to the test. The top two students will be given the opportunity to work with me. Remember, it is crucial that you do not hold back your skills. We shall start with the females duel. Number 1 and number 2 step forward."

My number was number 24. Each winner from every duel would compete against each other until only two girls were left to fight against each other.

It didn't take me long to get to the finals. I was up against Amber.

"Huh, look at you with your stupid green eyes and hair, Sustrai. You think you're gonna beat me?"

She was confident and good…but not good enough.

Once the match was over, Cinder stood up and clapped. "Very very good sustrai. You may go rest. Men, take care of the wounded and the dead. We will continue on with the male duels."

They dragged Amber's body away. A flash of memory came to mind, the unconscious children on the boat. The memory no longer startled me. Maybe it was the training, maybe it was the number of deaths I've seen while dueling, my heart had become callous to it.

I went off to clean myself up and find Warren. I wanted to tell him the great news. I knocked on his office door. No response. I tried opening it but it was locked.

"Looking for Warren dear?"

I turned around, Cinder was there.

"Yes.."

She touched my cheek, "My dear, Warren is no longer part of this organisation. He had deferring ideas to our group. We had no choice but to let him go."

Let him go.

He was dead.

"But…but..he…I" tears welled up in my eyes. She pulled me in her arms, "Hush my dear. Hush. It'll be alright. I'm here to take care of you now."

Black was the other person who made it through the exams. Like me, he made sure his opponents did not get back up. We were put on the same team together, working for Cinder. She treated me kindly, similar but not the same as Warren did.

Two years after the exams, Cinder gave both of us a mission. We were to head to Vale, posing as students from Haven visiting Beacon.

"You two have to choose first names for yourself. For example, I'm Cinder Fall. It's a norm for these people." Cinder informed us.

Black grinned, "Mercury. Mercury Black. Sounds cool don't you think?" he winked at her. She ignored him. "And you, my dear?"

I thought for a while before answering. "Emerald. Emerald Sustrai."


End file.
